Barrie Grunewald keeps his seat

2.43am - Pat from Lydiate

A night of surprises in Sefton!

First, Labour councillor Nina Killen loses her Sudell seat to independent Matthew Gannon, before ‘Pat from Lydiate’ - aka Pat O’Hanlon, a residents’ group campaigner who has led on green belt land - took Park from Labour.

Joe voted back in

So how does Mayor Anderson’s victory this time compare to the picture four years ago?

Well his overall share of the vote has gone down, but it’s still a resounding first-round victory. Part of the drop can be explained by an improved performance for Lib Dem leader Richard Kemp, who got 14,000 more votes this time than last.

Of course back in 2012 the Liberal Democrats were in coalition with the Conservatives nationally and many local politicians bore the brunt of public anger at the national picture.